warding off evil thoughts

"If a suggestion from satan assail thy (mind), seek refuge with Allah; for He heareth and knoweth (all things). Those who fear God, when a thought of evil from satan assaults them, bring Allah to remembrance, when lo' they see (aright)!
But their brethren (the evil ones) plunge them deeper into error, and never relax (their efforts). "

Al Araaf 7:200-202

I get them all the time - evil thoughts or distractions of the mind.. and I can sometimes feel their incessant attacks. So it's truly a constant Jihad to ward off these evil thoughts and distractions in my solat and at other times.

May Allah protect us all, always.

A'udzubillahi Minassyaitonirrajim.

send the umbrella

Last night I dreamt that I worked in a school. I seem to be the office attendant, and my job was to send umbrellas to the teachers when they need it.

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yesterday a doctor, today a teacher

Yesterday I was writing down scribbling down notes, as my colleague replied to my questions about her system requirements. As I was writing, I went like 'o-o-okay, so what is the other event where you require this alert?'.
She answered and I took that down as I said..'ok, and what about... ". As I was scribbling and replying, momentarily I felt like I'm a doctor.


But.. ok yeah right.

Today, I chatted with my good friend over whatsapp, giving my 2-cents worth about the situation she was in. At the end of the conversation, she said she was summarising the conversation. When she said that, I suddenly felt like I'm a teacher/lecturer.

These 3-secs-feeling-like-you're-someone-else was quite fun. It's like being in their shoes for 3 secs.



But then again, about the teacher/lecturer part.. it COULD mean that I was talking too much. :-|

bow down in worship

I was reading this transliteration of this verse, and I recall a question asked to me, by a young man, born-Muslim. It was a very interesting question and I'm so glad he asked. Cause I'm sure, it has crossed the minds of some of us, but we may be just too shy to ask what seems like a 'silly' question. He asked, "scientifically dinosaurs exist before Christ (BC), how come Islam isn't around during those days?"


"Seest thou not that to Allah bow down in worship all things that are in the heavens and on earth - the sun, the moon, the stars, the hills, the trees the animals; and a great number among mankind? But a great number are (also) such as are fit for Punishment: and such as Allah shall disgrace - non can rise to honour: for Allah carries out all that He wills."

22:18 Al-Hajj

Through the course of learning more about my own religion, I came to know that actually 'Islam' is an arabic word which means 'submission'. In religious context it means 'submission to the will of God'.

So, it's not just BC. Even BM (before man) - 'submission to God' or 'Islam', has already existed. It existed as long as when Allah creates all that He has created - that includes our universe and the stars.

Subhanallah.

growing old and dying

Since my late 30s, I have the tendency to think I'm a little bit older than I am. Example, when I had just passed my 37th year, and people ask me how old I am, I tend to say I'm 38 or even coming 40.

Now that I've passed 40, everytime I look at old ladies in their 60s-70s I think about how I'll be - cause it won't be too long when I'm going to be like that - that is, if my decreed time on earth is till then.

I have a vision of how I'd like to be when I'm that old. I hope to be still actively writing, be a thinker, an intellectual person.

An intellectual person, as Syed Hussein Alatas described in his essay in 1959 'The Intellectuals', "is a person who engages himself in thinking about ideas and non-material problems using his faculty of reason." This person may or may not have academic qualifications - and is well versed in the capacity of his intellectual interest.

I guess there is hope for me to be one.

I hope, in my old days, I'm still actively learning new beneficial things, doing dakwah in my own attainable capacity. I hope to write beneficial writings.

I hope I will be around, as long as my children need me, and will go before I become a burden to them. I hope I will go when my iman is at it's peak, I hope I will go easily, I hope I will attain goodness in this world and the Hereafter.

I hope and pray the same for everyone.

Afterall, what is life - if not a preparation for death.

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